Ceres High varsity girls tennis players Juliana Rosas and Janet Jimenez teamed up to win three of four matches while finishing third overall at the Western Athletic Conference Doubles Championships last Thursday at Central Valley.
Rosas and Jimenez secured a berth to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-III Tournament.
"It's big for our program," Bulldogs head coach Jack Jacques said. "To be honest, I'm not surprised. Juliana's extremely competitive. Janet's been our most consistent player all year. They paired well. With a little better coaching, they might have been able to win the whole thing."
Rosas and Jimenez completed their final match just after 9 p.m.
Juliana and Janet rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory under the lights over Pacheco's Irian Islas and Perla Jimenez.
The WAC tournament got underway at 9 a.m.
"Both doubles teams were having trouble keeping track of the scores," Jacques said. "They were mentally exhausted. It was a heckuva match. There were so many momentum swings."
Rosas and Jimenez lost 7-5, 6-4 to runners-up Amanda Marchese and Marelee Garcia of Los Banos in the semifinals.
Juliana and Janet collected wins against Livingston's Maggie Mendoza and Taranpreet Kaur (6-4, 6-2) and Patterson's Kianna Garza and Catarina Borges (6-4, 6-2).
Ceres High's Stephanie Garcia and Jolyce Vega lost 6-1, 6-2 to eventual-champions Ashley Afalla and Avree Chairez of Patterson in the first round.
Central Valley High School had two doubles teams reach the quarterfinals.
"I'm pretty satisfied with how everyone played," Hawks head coach Mike Rodriguez said.
Teresa Diaz and Celest Lepe lost 7-6 (7-4), 6-1 to Afalla and Chairez.
Diaz and Lepe defeated Los Banos' Stacia Teicheira and Emma Little 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 in the first round.
Jadah Jackson and Amy Nguyen lost 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to Marchese and Garcia.
Jackson and Nguyen defeated Pacheco's Ruth Ramirez and Kayla Ayala 6-4, 6-4 in the first round.
Central Valley's Chelsea Flores and Princess Pe lost 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) to Marchese and Garcia.
Flores and Pe have been doubles partners for two years.
"They played tough," Rodriguez said. "Their experience helped them make it a close match."
BOYS WATER POLO
Ceres High School's varsity boys water polo team defeated visiting Livingston 19-11 on Oct. 14.
The Wolves nearly upset the visiting Bulldogs on Senior Night this past week.
Ceres High edged Livingston 9-6 in overtime on Thursday.
"Livingston has gotten a lot better," Bulldogs head coach Tracy Bull said. "They've never been within six goals anytime we've played them. They had a chance to beat us. I think we underestimated them a little bit."
Ceres High compiled a 6-2 record on its way to a second-place finish in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
Livingston had a 3-5 mark in league play.
The Bulldogs earned the WAC's final postseason berth the previous week.
"Livingston played really well," Bull said. "They had nothing to lose. We didn't have to win. But we didn't want to go into playoffs with a loss."
The Wolves limited Bulldog standout Zachary Jones to three goals.
Fernando Olmos and Timothy Campbell scored three and two goals, respectively.
Bobby Baranski had one goal.
Sean Carr totaled five blocks.
"He (Jones) had a hard time gripping the ball," Bull said. "It was freezing."
Ceres High and Livingston both tallied six goals during regulation, which consisted of 28 minutes.
The Wolves scored the equalizer with 8 seconds to play.
"The biggest difference in the game was the water was freezing," Bull said. "They've played without a heater all year. That's a huge problem when you're not used to it. We never got comfortable. We also didn't get to practice all week because the heater's out in our pool. The temperature was 67 degrees. That's too cold."
Ceres High and Livingston played two, three-minute periods of overtime.
The Bulldogs outscored the Wolves 3-0 as Baranski, Olmos and Jones led the way with one goal apiece.
"We really dominated," Bull said. "Our defense was suffocating."
Ceres High, the WAC's No. 2 seed, will face Valley Oak League champion Ripon in the opening round of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division-II playoffs this Thursday at Woodcreek High School. The contest will get underway at 10 a.m.
"We're not afraid of them," Bull said. "It will be a good matchup. We won't embarrass our school. They only way we can beat them is playing really good defense. I don't think we can outscore them. They're not a big, physical team. But they're quick."
